Category Archives: Convergencia por los Derechos Humanos

The Human Rights Convergence stands in solidarity with the Center for Legal Action in Environment and Social Issues (CALAS) in the wake of recent acts of intimidation toward the organization. On July 29, an unknown man fired a series of gunshots in front of the CALAS offices. The event occurred just one day before the organization was scheduled to participate in an evidentiary hearing in order to bring the former head of security for the San Rafael mine, Alberto Rotondo, to trial for violence against community members. The Convergence is calling for a criminal investigation into these acts, and holding mining company Tahoe Resources accountable for both acts of intimidation against CALAS and acts of violence against residents who opposed the mine.

On June 25, The Human Rights Convergence — a coalition of human rights organizations — published a statement regarding the protection of civilian responses to the recent corruption scandals in Guatemala.

The Convergence put forward this information to demonstrate the acts of retaliation and repression against those participating in social movements calling for an end to government corruption. The Convergence sites specific incidents of attacks and threats, which include:

A fire set to a local business of a social movement leader in Quetzaltenango.

Death threats against Congressman Amílcar Pop, after he initiated the judicial demand to investigate President Pérez Molina.

The seizure of a local bus from San Juan Sacatepéquez on its return from a march that occurred in Guatemala City on June 13.

The murder of two community leaders, Pablo Pajarito Rompich in Quiché and Santiago Ramírez in Petén.

The Human Rights Convergence therefore requests that actions be taken by all involved actors: that the CICIG, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the Human Rights Attorney Office open investigations into these allegations; that the National Security System limit the executive branch’s powers to exploit public resources for illicit activities; and that Guatemalan society as a whole maintain its commitment to fighting impunity and corruption.

Below you can find the full statement from the Human Rights Convergence in Spanish.

The Human Rights Convergence is a coalition of organizations that was formed to support the agenda of human rights in Guatemala, in general, and in particular, to develop actions oriented towards the fight against impunity.

On May 10, 2015, the Human Rights Convergence released a statement on the resignation of Vice President Roxana Baldetti. (Full text in Spanish available below).

On April 16, the criminal ring “La Linea,” allegedly headed by Juan Carlos Monzon — private secretary of the then vice-president Roxana Baldetti — was uncovered. The magnitude of the fraud and the organization of the ring, which profited off the state’s tax system, presumes previous knowledge and personal gain on the part of the vice-president. This knowledge prompted Guatemalan society to demand Baldetti’s resignation.

In light of these events, the Convergence wishes to express its support to those who are mobilizing to demand an end to state corruption, as well as for the ongoing work of the CICIG. The Convergence also wishes to stress the need for investigations into the integrity of the justice system, as well as the candidates for the vice-presidency.

This press release by the Guatemalan Human Rights Convergence argues that the Pérez Molina administration has responded to human rights demands with violence, censorship and prohibition of freedom of speech. The Convergence highlights the wave of repression against both indigenous and mestizo communities in northern Huehuetenango — in particular, those living in Barillas, Santa Eulalia, and San Mateo Ixtatan and resisting large-scale development projects — and looks at cases of criminalization of community leaders.

(Translation of a press release issued by the Human Rights Convergence. The original Spanish version is available below).

END THIS PROVOCATION AND TERROR

Faced with various events that suggest premeditated incitement of social conflict, the Human Rights Convergence states:

1. Over the last week, a number of acts have occurred that illustrate a pattern of incitement to violence with the intention of sparking conflict, in order to then justify repressive action. The following stand out:

• On Wednesday the 17th, during a day of protests organized by movements in defense of territory, a group of masked people tried to convince the community members located at the crossroads of Cubilhuitz-Salaquín to burn down government buildings. When the community members refused, the masked group threw rocks at the office building, provoking the arrival of the National Civilian Police (PNC), who attacked the community.

• On Thursday the 18th, while the National Civilian Police pressured protestors at a point along the highway in Camotán, Chiquimula to end the protest, supposed members of security forces shot at protestors and injured various members of the police. This provoked a reaction by the PNC against the community, to the point that community reporter Norma Sansir was arrested and unjustly charged, along with a lay employee of Nuevo Día, Carlos Juárez, and three other community members, including one person arrested on their own property. Police also launched tear gas inside schools.

• Community leaders from San Juan Sacatepéquez describe how on the afternoon of Friday the 19th, in the hamlet of Los Pajoques, a group of about 15 armed men, employees of the cement company that is attempting to build a factory in the area, arrived and shot into the air. They injured one person in the community who died upon arrival at Roosevelt Hospital. Another person passed away from bullet wounds later that afternoon. The community pursued the armed men and managed to hold four of them prisoner. The rest fled the area after having injured various people, including those who passed away. The community demanded the presence of the PNC, which never arrived on the scene despite — according to declarations from the head of the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office (PDH) — assurances by the Chief of Police that he himself would arrive. The community members tried to hand over the four people they had detained (those accused of having shot, injured and killed two in the community) to the police.

Nevertheless, hours passed and the PNC never arrived in the community. With the absence of the responsible state authorities, the conflict intensified to such an extreme that unidentified groups set fire to houses and vehicles. Finally, in an equally reputable act, those who had been holding the four suspects prisoner executed them, raising the death toll to six.

2. It is notable that in each case, and particularly in that of San Juan Sacatepéquez on Friday night and early Saturday, the state authorities – absent from the scene of the conflict and without conducting investigations – blame organizations defending their rights to land and territory. This comes without any detailed investigation of the pattern of provocative acts described above.

On June 6, 2014, Erwin Sperinsen was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a prisoner and assisted murder of six others at Pavón prison in 2006. Sperinsen, who has dual citizenship, was tried as a Swiss citizen in the Geneva Criminal Court by seven judges. Witnesses described how when Sperinsen was the Director of the National Civil Police, Oscar Berger and Eduardo Stein developed a criminal structure to execute inmates, among other illegal activities. The official name of the plan that resulted in the execution of the seven prisoners was the Peacock Plan. During the trial it was repeated that this was not an isolated incident, despite the insistence of the defense that all accused parties are innocent. Sperisen’s sentence is a step forward for justice in that it confirms that dual citizenship cannot be used as a form of impunity, it resulted in the conviction of Carlos Vielman, who is accused of organizing the criminal operations at Pavón, and it encourages Guatemala to investigate the accusations against persons identified by witnesses in Geneva. The Convergence for Human Rights reiterates how imperative it is for citizens to condemn those who justify social cleansing and murder.Continue reading →